Annapolis Field Trip

Third Graders Skype

As you know, the Winn family donated money for SP Lower School to buy a teleconferencing center. The third graders have been taking full advantage of this new addition. Last week we spoke with Cort's grandfather via Skype. Mr. Brower serves as Director of the Water Board for Monterey Peninsula in California. This week, the students spoke with Catherine Calvo via Skype who works for WaterAid. WaterAid is one of the many organizations that helps provide support for people in developing countries that do not have clean water or sanitation. Ciarra represented our class as she spoke with Catherine and asked the following questions: What made you want to join WaterAid and who started this organization? Where do the people get the supplies to make the pumps? How can WaterAid deliver these supplies? How can we help people in other countries if we don’t have money to give? Ask you child about these calls!

Third Grade Flash Mob

The third graders performed a flash mob during Friday's assembly promoting the Move Your Body campaign. Take a look at their great work:

Maypole and Guest Speakers

What a great week we have had in the third grade! On Tuesday, the third graders did an amazing job performing the Maypole dances. Their time and dedication to this SP tradition was evident as they intricately performed the difficult ribbon dances. On Wednesday, Will's mom came to talk to us about vaccines they receive today and why they should have them. She showed the students pictures of people who have the measles, polio, and other diseases so they could see the effects of the diseases. She also helped promote healthy habits by giving the students a sun visor and chapstick with SPF. The students had so many great questions as they were consolidating their knowledge! Today, Mr. Stamper came to talk to us about his job at the State House in Annapolis. We will be visiting here as part of our field trip on Wednesday, May 15th. He demonstrated to the students how a bill becomes a law and let the students think of a few laws they would like passed. A few of their suggestions were: you have to eat candy every day, no homework, and babies must ride in a car seat. Mr. Stamper also passed around a few bills that he has worked on. The students were very interested in these and wanted to read every word!

Important Medical Discoveries of the Past

The students worked in teams to research a famous Doctor/Scientist of the past. They were to record information about their childhood, medical accomplishments, and any other honors or recognition they received. Take a look at the PowerPoint presentations each team created and the interview they presented to the class. Excellent work!

Germs!

Aaa...choooo!  This week we learned all about germs and how these tiny organisms enter the body.  We examined our hands after playing outside and discussed how to properly wash them.  The students are working with a partner to make a poster about how to wash their hands or how to prevent the spread of germs to hang by the sinks in the school. 

Next week we will continue learning about medical discoveries of the past.  The students will begin working with their partner to research discoveries by Pasteur, Drew, Banting, Fleming, Salk, Curie, Jenner, and Reed.  Ask your child who they will be researching!

Baseball Day!

The sun came out just in time for our baseball day on Friday. The students headed over to the SP baseball field to play an exciting game of Wiffle Ball. Many students noted how much harder wiffle ball is than baseball! We had many baseball enthusiasts on the field and some who just enjoyed doing flips and looking for insects in the outfield. All in all, everyone was having fun! After the game we went back to our classroom for a baseball themed lunch of hot dogs, cracker jacks, chips, and ice cream. The most exciting part of the day was welcoming our guest speaker, Tippy Martinez. Mr. Martinez is Acacia's grandfather and a former pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles who is best known for his infamous curve ball. All of the students recieved an autograph from Mr. Martinez. This was a great day! Check out some pictures from baseball day...

Making and Measuring Muscles

This week we have been learning about the digestive system and muscular system. After learning about the digestion process, we discussed smooth, cardiac, and skeletal muscles. We talked about what makes up a skeletal muscle and looked closely at images of muscle fibers. Then, we created our own tasty muscle fibers using food. We put all of the fibers together to make a muscle! In preparation for an excel lesson we will be doing next week, each student partnered up to collect their contracted and expanded muscle measurements. We recorded this information on a chart and noted the difference between the contracted and expanded muscle measurments. Enjoy the pictures!

Putting muscle fibers together to make a muscle.

Wrapping Twist and Peel Twizzlers with a Fruit Roll-Up to make a muscle fiber.

Wrapping Twist and Peel Twizzlers with a Fruit Roll-Up to make a muscle fiber.

Add captiWrapping Twist and Peel Twizzlers with a Fruit Roll-Up to make a muscle fiber.
 

Grandparents'/Special Friends' Day

We had a wonderful turnout for Grandparents'/Special Friends' Day in our class. Each of the students introduced their visitor(s) to the class and many students ran over and gave their visitor(s) a big hug! It was truly touching to see how proud the students were to have their grandparents or special friends in their class. The students shared a special poem with their visitor(s) that they composed in class. The poem started out by describing the grandparents or special friends, then compared the student with their guest, and ended describing each student. Ask your child (or your child's visitors) to share with you what they wrote. I had many laughs in class when they were describing to me what they thought about their grandparents or special friends! After sharing the poems, the students had a chance to interview their grandparents or special friends. They were allowed to share one interesting fact they learned with the class. Most answers revolved around homework and how many did not do it or waited until the last minute to get it done when they were young! Our morning ended when our visitors got to see the students present their state reports. Again, the students did an amazing job presenting the information they learned about their state. What a great day!

Morning Meeting

Morning Meetings are a time to read and share stories or to do activities to support our Character Counts program. On Friday, Alex told me he would like to lead our meeting. I think he will be a tough act for me to follow! Enjoy...